Spy Gadgets From The Past

Spy gadgets that were invented and applied the KGB, the CIA and other organizations in the past, the operational work on the territory of a potential enemy. Lipstick - a pistol, "a set of rectal Houdini", bugs in the heels of shoes and much more can be found below. All of the following "spy stuff" at this point can be found in the international spy museum, based in Washington.

Button compass - This button compass, sewn onto the fly of a pair of pants, could help a spy navigate his way to a border. The face of the compass spun on a pin to indicate north (the two dots) or south (one dot).

Kiss of Death - This Cold War-era KGB lipstick gun delivered the kiss of death with a single 4.5mm shot.

Button Cam - To snap a surreptitious picture, the spy would squeeze a shutter cable hidden in the coat pocket, triggering the fake button to open for the lens. This was one of several models of buttonhole cameras widely used in the Soviet Union, Europe and North America.

Spy Umbrella - Perfect gadget for the cold-blooded killer who imagines himself a gentleman - an umbrella, able to "sting" poison - was developed by the KGB. A similar device was used for the removal of the Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov, killed in 1978 in London.

Rectal Houdini Kit - It's a toss-up which would be worse, getting caught by the enemy or having the cap on this rectal escape kit pop off unexpectedly in a spy's caboose. The kit was issued by the CIA in the 1960s.

Cyanide Specs - Choosing death over torture, a captured spy in the 1970s could chew on the tip of these CIA-issued spectacles to get at a cyanide pellet hidden inside.

Cyanide Gas Gun - One such gun was used by the Soviet secret police agent, Bogdan Stashinsky to eliminate leaders of the Ukrainian nationalist movement Rebeta Lev and Stepan Bandera in the late 1950's. Weapons that Stashinsky hiding in a rolled newspaper, catapulting explosive capsules with cyanide, in the face of the victim, which led to stopping her heart.

Shoe Bug - The spy agency would intercept the shoes at the post office and install a bug and transmitter in the heel to monitor the diplomat's conversations. The transmitter wouldn't be detected during an electronic sweep of the diplomat's office for bugs unless the diplomat was in the room at the time the sweep occurred.

Turd Transmitter - This CIA turd transmitter, issued around 1970, was actually a homing beacon that transmitted a radio signal to pilots overhead to help direct them to bombing targets and reconnaissance sites.

Pipe Pistol - Issued by British Special Forces during World War II, this pipe could fire a small projectile designed to kill a person at close range. The weapon fired by twisting the bowl while holding the stem.

Steineck Watchcam - A product of post-war (meaning the Second World), Germany. It allows the agent to take a photo under the guise of checking the time on a wristwatch - there was no viewfinder, so you had to rely on luck and shoot at random. Film in the form of a disk can fit in his eight photographs.

Tree Stump Bug - In the early 1970's Intelligence Agency found in a wooded suburb of Moscow, an artificial tree stump, hides a radar and communications signals intercepts of Soviet missile system. Intercepted signal is stored and transmitted to the U.S. satellite, and then landed at a military base, located in the United States. The tip of the stump at first glance is not transparent, but through it penetrated into the plaster cast sunlight falling on the built-in solar panels, rechargeable internal battery.

Fountain Pen Camera - Designed specifically for photographing documents,devices like this were used by Aleksandr Ogorodnik, codenamed Trigon, who was a senior Soviet diplomat recruited by the CIA in the 1970s.

Coin Cache - Issued by the KGB beginning in the 1950s, this hollow coin could conceal microfilm and microdots. It was opened by inserting a needle into a tiny hole in the front of the coin.

Coal Bomb and Camouflage Kit - This lump of coal, issued in the 1940s by the Office of Special Services, precursor to the CIA, concealed explosives that, when shoveled into a boiler fire, would explode.The accompanying camouflage kit allowed an agent to paint the coal the same color as local coal in order to blend in.

Glove Pistol - Issued by the U.S. Navy during World War II, this pistol allowed an operative to take out the enemy without ever removing his gloves. To fire the pistol, the wearer simply pushed the plunger against the victim's body.

Canteen Bomb - This World War II-era canteen from U.S. Army intelligence concealed explosives that could be used by resistance groups to sabotage encampments behind enemy lines.